"Smash It Up" is a song by English punk rock band the Damned, released as a single on 12 October 1979 by

Chiswick Records Chiswick Records was a British independent record label. Established in 1975, Chiswick was the "first true ' indie' label to be established in Britain for nearly a decade". The label has been described as "significant" in the " punk era". It re ...

. It is considered the band's unofficial anthem. The single was the second release from the band's third studio ''

Machine Gun Etiquette ''Machine Gun Etiquette'' is the third studio album by English punk rock band the Damned, released on 2 November 1979 by Chiswick Records. Background The album was the group's first since reforming with Dave Vanian on vocals, Captain Sensibl ...

'' (1979), where it was listed as "Smash It Up (Part II)". The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the single was "Burglar".

Production

"Smash It Up" was produced by the band and Roger Armstrong. It is structured in two-part form: a melodic instrumental introduction segueing into an energetic

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

song. The song's lyrics criticize those who indulge in

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

culture (referring to "blow wave hairstyles" and "

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

hippies") instead of advocating for political revolution.

Release

Chiswick reissued the single on their budget

Big Beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as ...

imprint in February 1982. The single was also issued in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. "Smash It Up" was boycotted by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

because of its perceived

anarchic Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...

lyrics, stalling at No. 35 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In November 2004, Ace Records reissued the single on CD, with alternate versions of the song (including the previously unreleased third and fourth parts of "Smash It Up") and a video, directed by Martin Baker, added.

Promotion

The Damned performed "Smash It Up" (as well as "

I Just Can't Be Happy Today "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" is a song by English punk rock band the Damned from their 1979 album, ''Machine Gun Etiquette''. Released as a single in November on Chiswick Records, it peaked at No. 46 in the UK Singles Chart. Production The s ...

") on the

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

television show ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'' in 1979.

In other media

A cover version of the song by

the Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guita ...

appeared for a few seconds in the 1995 film ''

Batman Forever ''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment o ...

''. The full song was included on the film's

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

. The song appeared in the console-based game '' Driver: Parallel Lines'' (2006) as a track from the 1978 era. The song appears in the 2010 film, ''

It's Kind of a Funny Story ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' is a 2006 novel by American author Ned Vizzini. The book was inspired by Vizzini's own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004. Ned Vizzini later died by suicide on December 19, 2013. The book recei ...

''. The song also appears at the end credits of

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Ga ...

, Season 2, Episode 10.

Track listing

All songs written by Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Ward. ;1979 vinyl release #"Smash It Up" – 2:52 #"Burglar" – 3:33 ;2004 CD release #"Smash It Up" – 2:52 #"Burglar" – 3:33 #"Smash It Up Parts 1–4" – 8:43

Production credits

Producers *Roger Armstrong * The Damned Musicians *

Dave Vanian David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have ...

−

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Captain Sensible Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band The Damned (band), the Damned, originally playing bass before switc ...

−

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, keyboards *

Rat Scabies Christopher John Millar (born 30 July 1955), known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known as the drummer for English punk rock band the Damned. Career Millar was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He played drums with Tor ...

−

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, vocals on "Burglar" * Algy Ward − bass

Cover versions

The song was covered by

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...

for the 1991

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Learning English, Lesson One ''Learning English, Lesson One'' or ''Learning English, Lesson 1'' (other punctuation variations possible) is a cover album by the German punk band Die Toten Hosen. The album includes covers of mostly British bands, which were big influences on ...

''. In 1995,

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guita ...

covered the song for the soundtrack to the film ''

''. The song peaked at No. 16 on the U.S.

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and No. 47 on the

Hot 100 Airplay (Radio Songs) The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acr ...

chart. It was later released on the Offspring's '' Club Me'' EP and also on the " All I Want" CD single.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1979 singles 1982 singles 1995 singles 2004 singles Batman music Batman (1989 film series) The Damned (band) songs The Offspring songs Songs written by Captain Sensible Songs written by David Vanian Songs written by Rat Scabies Songs written by Algy Ward 1979 songs